In San Jose, Calif., the worst city for renters on the list, the average worker earns $47,030 - almost double metro Phoenix's average worker pay, according to the Arizona Office for Economic Opportunity. A San Jose worker must put in almost 90 hours a month to afford the typical rent of $1,919.

San Jose’s average rent is almost double metro Phoenix’s too. But wages in the California city are rising faster than in Phoenix, and its rents are climbing more slowly.

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Rent hikes

Valley apartment rents have climbed about 20 percent since 2014, while wages in the Phoenix area are up by less than half that much.

Longtime Arizona economist and real estate analyst Elliott Pollack recently told a group of builders what the Valley needs to continue to grow is more “worker apartments” that people can afford.